HIGH SCHOOL ICE HOCKEY: Notre Dame wins second straight MCT title

WEST WINDSOR — Mike Adams couldn’t think of a better way to end the Mercer County Tournament.

He scored a pair of goals, added three assists, skated away with the Most Valuable Player Trophy and he hoisted the championship trophy one more time.

Adams led Notre Dame to its second straight Mercer County Tournament title with a very impressive 8-3 win over a game Robbinsville last night at Mercer County Park before a large crowd.

The MCT title besides being ND’s second straight marks the 11th time since 1986 that the Irish have won the crown.

“This is an honor,’’ said Adams of the title and the MVP. “I couldn’t do it without my line mates, though. Being a senior it’s just great. This game meant so much and it’s great to repeat.’’

The Irish (21-3-2) came out and got a goal early and never looked back. Notre Dame built a 3-0 lead before the Ravens (17-5-1) got on the board. The Irish responded with three more and after both traded goals it was 7-2 heading to the intermission after the second period.

“This is great,’’ said Andrew Ducko, the ND coach. “We went out and got the early lead and just kept pushing forward. Anytime they got any momentum we just kept pushing and never gave up. We have a lot of great players. Our whole team played great.’’

Yes, ND did. But, Robbinsville never gave up the fight and tried several times to get back in the game.

“Notre Dame is a tremendous powerhouse team,’’ said Dan Bergan, the Robbinsville coach. “We have no excuses. They are the best team in the CVC bar none.’’

Besides Adams five points, the Irish got four assists and a goal from sophomore Connor Todaro and Connor McNamara had a goal and two assists. Jess Manyoky had a pair of goals, Connor Corvino and Austin Dill each added one goal. Dakota Skove had a pair of assists and Brandon Tornquist had an assist to complete the ND scoring.

Robbinsville got a pair of goals from Logan Fredericks and one from Chris Deck. Jimmy Kenna had a pair of assists with Fredericks, Rich Francis and Eric Hildebrand getting one.

Stephen Anderson was solid in goal for the Irish with 21 saves and the Ravens Kellen Anker turned away 29.

“This is awesome,’’ said Anderson, who has two MCT crowns in his three years at ND. “Even if we didn’t have states this the best way to go out.‘’

The Irish hit a little bump in the road late in the season, but it seems they have gotten their ‘a’ game back.

“We have always stayed positive and when you do that you are going to win a lot ore than you lose,’’ Ducko said.

The Irish, who have not lost to a Colonial Valley Conference team since the 2011 MCT finals to Princeton definitely got it all back together at the right time.

“We knew we had to play hard and win the battles,’’ said Adams. “They are a good team, but we needed to finish.’’